Morgenstern Julie - Listful thinking: using lists to be more productive, highly successful and less stressed

Acknowledgments

My love list:

Jay Berman

Olga Rizzo

Louis Rizzo

My teacher list:

Cathy Krein

Brenda Knight

Rita Rosenkranz

Beth Grossman

Dr. Manny Alvarez

My confidante list:

Terri Trespicio

Nicole Feldman

Lisa Logallo Chavez

Nicole Meiselbach

Carolyn Reilly

Michele Reilly

Jennifer Walsh

Jessica Mulvihill

Sharon Hazelrigg

My brainstorming/brain picking/writing pals list:

Jene Luciani

Emily Leibert

Erika Katz

Darcie Rowan

Mary Lengle

Shaiza Shamim

My Lists and Libations Meetup Group

My interns who helped this book come together list:

Kayla Ellman

Matthew Hauptman

Audra Martin

Isabel McCullough

Nicole Rouyer Guillet

Caitlin Scott

Erin Scott

My distractions list:

The Golden Girls

Real Simple magazine

Netflix

Pandora radio

Pretty notebooks from Papyrus, KnockKnockStuff.com, and Kates Paperie

Pinot grigio

My inspiration list:

Oprah Winfrey

Barbara Walters

Paul T. Rizzo, my grandfather and a bookbinder for twenty-five years, who taught me to love and respect books

About the Author

PAULA RIZZO is the senior health producer for FoxNews.com at Fox News Channel and the founder of ListProducer.com. Shes an Emmy Award winner and attributes much of her success to her compulsive list making. The native New Yorker makes lists for every task and event she takes on, from finding an apartment to buying the perfect bra. She started ListProducer.com in April 2011 to help others become more organized, focused, efficient, and less stressed. Paula inherited her list-making skills from her father, Louis. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Jay Berman.

CHAPTER 1

What Can Lists Do for You?

What do Madonna, Martha Stewart, Richard Branson, John Lennon, Ellen DeGeneres, Ben Franklin, Ronald Reagan, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Edison, and Johnny Cash have in common? Each is or was a list maker. These successful people, along with many CEOs and busy entrepreneurs, all use lists to keep track of their ideas, thoughts, and tasks.

A recent survey from the career website LinkedIn.com found that 63 percent of all professionals frequently create to-do lists. Whether or not they use those lists correctly is another story. In fact, that same study found that only 11 percent of people who make lists said they accomplished everything on them in a given week. (http://linkd.in/1wIXxe8)

GET YOUR LIFE BACK

Timeits one of those things we can never seem to get enough of. We are all trying to do a million things in our work, home, and social lives. Finding enough hours in the day to get everything done and still have downtime can be a struggle. Its no wonder so many of us are stressed, overextended, and exhausted.

More than half of all American employees feel overwhelmed, according to a study from the Families and Work Institute. The to-do lists go on and on. Just a single day can look like this:

Complete a project at work

Drive kids to dance class

Clean out the garage

Look for a new job

Plan a vacation

Meet friends for drinks

Etc.

LISTFUL THINKING

Many people say they wish they could be more successful, have more money, be happier, and feel healthieryet they cant seem to achieve these things. They blame their bad luck, their busy lives, their limited resources, and so on. But our lives can actually be turned around with a simple piece of paper (or an app)something so easy, anyone can do it.

Being more successful in any area of your life isnt about wishful thinking. Its about listful thinking. Aside from being a cute play on words, listful thinking works extremely well. Heres how. Once you write down a goal, you instantly become accountable. Whether that goal is to pick up eggs at the market or to write a book, the general intention is the same, to get what you want out of life (and to cross that item off your to-do list).

If youre part of the 54 percent who feel like theyre chasing their own tail, Ive got news for you: it doesnt have to be that way. You can still find time to relax, read a good book, and do the things you love. If you embrace the philosophy of listful thinking, you can get your life backbecause thinking in terms of bite-sized goals is much easier than biting off a Guy Fieri-sized chunk.

Managing your to-dos, activity planning, problems, and almost any task youre faced with will be much easier with a list. Ill show you how to:

Write lists that will help you get more done

Save time

Be more organized

Be more productive

Save money

Reduce stress

Be more successful at work and at home

BENEFITS OF LIST MAKING

Making lists will help you not only achieve your goals but also make you less stressed, more balanced, and less rushed. Weve all been there: you discover you forgot your toothbrush after a long trip, or you go to the store but dont buy the black pants you went there to purchase in the first place. If you had written it down, you wouldnt have forgotten. (Okay, sometimes we still forget, but we are less likely to forget when we put it on paper.) Lists act as stress relievers, goal achievers, and life-savers. They will save you time and money because youll be prepared for any situation.

List maker or not, everyone can benefit from this low-tech tool. Lists will turn even the most disorganized person into an organized thinker. Its all about preparation and thought-fulness.

Did You Know?

Famous List Makers

Madonna has been known to write up lists while cruising around in her limo, between shows, or while running errands. Her lists include things to do, stuff to buy, appointments, and contacts, and they have been auctioned for thousands of dollars. (http://bit.ly/1xke33k)

THE POWER OF LISTS

You become what you believe has been my mantra for some timethanks to Oprah Winfrey. I was one of those people who watched her show religiously. When I was just thirteen years old, I was obsessed with The Oprah Winfrey Show and decided to write a letter to my hero. I got a response on official Oprah letterhead, along with an autographed photo. Check out the letter on the next page.

I love that the letter says time does not permit me to answer all your questions. I can only imagine how many questions I had as an inquisitive junior journalist!

Anyway, You become what you believe is one of Oprahs most famous sayings, but she actually borrowed it from Maya Angelou. Its by far my favorite life lesson. Its true: if you believe it, you can become it!

Eight of My Favorite Oprah Quotes

Oprah Winfrey has taught me so much about giving, being a good listener, and striving to achieve my goals. Shes been a part of my life since I began watching her show when I was young and has become more of a role model as Ive gotten older.